Connor H. Carroll on SoundBetter

Los Angeles based mastering & Dolby Atmos engineer for both indie and label artists.

Hey, I'm Connor!

Connor has worked on projects from artists such as: Bankrol Hayden, Chikoruss, Faouzia, Lay Bankz, Shady Moon, Teqkoi, and many more. Connor strives to bring feeling and vibe to records. Located in his private studio in Los Angeles, Connor is continuing to master projects, bringing them to their fullest sonic resolution.

Apple Digital Masters certified.

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Interview with Connor H. Carroll

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: How can I be of help?
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Kii BXT System, Elysia Alpha Compressor, Sontec 432C/6, Lavry Quintessence, Lavry Savitr AD-24-200 ADC
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Every project. Seeing an artists vision come to fruition and people connecting to it, it's irreplaceable.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both, to each their own. I think both sound great and its just a work flow preference at this point. You can get excellent results with both. I work in the digital realm only for the reason that I need absolute transparency, but if I do need more saturation, there’s saturation plug-ins for that. Don’t get it confused, there are some analog pieces I’m interested in, but I've managed to get an analog sound from plug-ins.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Feeling and Confidence. There’s nothing like putting on a great record (especially your own) and as soon as you hear it, you begin to smile.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Make sure everyone is happy with the mix and feel confident that this will be the best your music can sound.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Currently planning to integrate analog gear into my studio and build a custom mastering console.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Anthony Green. The music is authentic, every project he is a part has an emotional connection. His creative output is unique.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Mastering. Working to find what is best for the projects interest. People think Mastering; making a song loud. When in actuality, it's whatever to make the song sound the best it can. For it to translate across different playback systems and to make sure the song feels good.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I examine the mix for any imperfections like hiss, pops, clicks, hums, etc. Then serve the song for what it needs, sometimes it needs a lot of corrective processing, other times it's little changes for maximum effect.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Entirely ITB mastering studio. Plugins have gotten so good now, it’s almost like why bother. My playback currently consists of Kii BXT Monitoring System, Mojo2 Headphone Amp, Audeze LCD-5's, Airpod Maxes, and first Gen Airpods. My DAW's of choice are Wavelab 12 Pro for stereo mastering and Pro Tools Studio 2024.6 with an Avid Dock as my “console” and controller. Plugins from Acustica, A.O.M, Fabfilter, iZotope, Softube (Weiss Bundle), Sonnox, and many more. As far as hardware pieces, we've got an Apogee Big Ben, Avalon 737, and a Tascam 122 MKIII Cassette Recorder.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Brian Lucey, his approach to music is very authentic.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Michael Trepagnier, he was my professor at ACM for a few years, he’s a certified genius no matter the task (He does not do mastering or Dolby Atmos).
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The fact that this is my job. Im extremely grateful I'm able to wake up and do what I love. Helping artists bring their art to life, art that they can share with world.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: "Do you know how long it'll take to get the project done?" Singles & EP’s 1-3 business days. Albums 7-14 days. “What is Apple Digital Masters?” ADM is Apple’s AAC audio format for playback. "Do you offer Dolby Atmos?" Yes, we offer a few immersive services such as: Dolby Atmos mixing, Dolby Atmos Mastering, Sony 360RA, and Surround Sound (5.1) Mastering.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: So I started working with audio production in 2008. I was 10 years old and I plugged an Xbox 360 USB RockBand mic into my moms computer and it worked. It's been my only focus and interest for the past 14 years of my life. I've only ever done musical things. All through middle and high school I was in band, playing trombone, French horn and mellophone. I started playing guitar at a very young age then soon after, picked up piano. I attended ACM@UCO here in Oklahoma City, OK. Now, 8 years later, I currently engineer for Atlantic Records along side mastering.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Could be warm and colorful, could be as transparent as glass. Regardless, I aim to do what is best for the song. I do love tube saturation and harmonics though, even if in small amounts.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: “Don't be rude, you never know who you are going to meet.” - Michael Trepagnier
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Emotional presence, transparency, unique sonic color, and most importantly, quality.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Stereo mastering and Dolby Atmos mixing/mastering.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That the mastering guy can fix it. Make sure you, your band, your engineer/producer, your mom, girlfriend, her mom, and everyone else involved is 200% satisfied with the the mix. We can fix a lot, but not everything.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Hip-Hop/Rap, R&B, Pop, Rock, Latin, Country, and Classical.